title: The use of vacuum erection devices in erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy.
abstract: The risk of postoperative erectile dysfunction (ED) following radical prostatectomy (RP) is reported to be between 14% and 89%. With an increase in the detection of prostate cancer in younger men, there is a greater emphasis on the appropriate management of ED following RP. A number of options are available to manage ED after RP, including phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, intracorporeal injections, intraurethral alprostadil, and vacuum erection devices (VEDs). Penile rehabilitation programs are increasingly used to facilitate the return of natural postoperative erections; the VED is an ideal therapy given that it increases blood flow and oxygenation to the corpora to reverse the changes that result in ED after RP.
authors.affiliation: Hertfordshire and South Bedfordshire Robotic Cancer Centre, Department of Urology, Lister Hospital, Stevenage, UK.
authors.forename: Kimberley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoyland
authors.forename: Nikhil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vasdev
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adshead
keywords: Erectile dysfunction; Penile rehabilitation; Radical prostatectomy; Vacuum erection device